Progress in lattice gauge theory

Two topics of lattice gauge theory are reviewed. They include string tension and β-function calculations by strong coupling Hamiltonian methods for SU(3) gauge fields in 3 + 1 dimensions, and a 1/N-expansion for discrete gauge and spin systems in all dimensions. The SU(3) calculations give solid evidence for the coexistence of quark confinement and asymptotic freedom in the renormalized continuum limit of the lattice theory. The crossover between weak and strong coupling behavior in the theory is seen to be a weak coupling but non-perturbative effect. Quantitative relationships between perturbative and non-perturbative renormalization schemes are obtained for the O(N) nonlinear sigma models in 1 + 1 dimensions as well as the range theory in 3 + 1 dimensions. Analysis of the strong coupling expansion of the β-function for gauge fields suggests that it has cuts in the complex 1/g²-plane. A toy model of such a cut structure which naturally explains the abruptness of the theory's crossover from weak to strong coupling is presented. The relation of these cuts to other approaches to gauge field dynamics is discussed briefly.The dynamics underlying first order phase transitions in a wide class of lattice gauge theories is exposed by considering a class of models-P(N) gauge theories - which are soluble in the N → ∞ limit and have non-trivial phase diagrams. The first order character of the phase transitions in Potts spin systems for N #62; 4 in 1 + 1 dimensions is explained in simple terms which generalizes to P(N) gauge systems in higher dimensions. The phase diagram of Ising lattice gauge theory coupled to matter fields is obtained in a $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion. A one-plaquette model (1 time-0 space dimensions) with a first-order phase transitions in the N → ∞ limit is discussed.     

Scalar lattice gauge theory

Scalar lattice gauge theories are models for scalar fields with local gauge symmetries. No fundamental gauge fields, or link variables in a lattice regularization, are introduced. The latter rather emerge as collective excitations composed from scalars. For suitable parameters scalar lattice gauge theories lead to confinement, with all continuum observables identical to usual lattice gauge theories. These models or their fermionic counterpart may be helpful for a realization of gauge theories by ultracold atoms. We conclude that the gauge bosons of the standard model of particle physics can arise as collective fields within models formulated for other “fundamental” degrees of freedom.     

Finite-size effects on a lattice calculation

We study in this Letter the finite-size effects of a non-periodic lattice on a lattice calculation. To this end we use a finite lattice equipped with a central difference derivative with homogeneous boundary conditions to calculate the bosonic mass associated to the Schwinger model. We found that the homogeneous boundary conditions produce absence of fermion doubling and chiral invariance, but we also found that in the continuum limit this lattice model does not yield the correct value of the boson mass as other models do. We discuss the reasons for this and, as a result, the matrix which cause the fermion doubling problem is identified.     

Adjoint sources in lattice gauge theory

Variance reduction techniques for the evaluation of Wilson loops in lattice gauge theory are analysed. The method is extended to Wilson loops in the adjoint representation. Variational methods are also applied to adjoint sources. The combination of these techniques allows the potential V(R) between two static adjoint sources to be determined in SU(2) gauge theory. One isolated static adjoint source is also studied and the energy and distribution of the gluon field of this “glue-lump” is obtained. This is relevant to the saturation of the adjoint potential V(R) at large R.     

Some calculations in lattice gauge theory

We look at the action proposed by Wilson on a lattice and calculate static constants like f_π and two-body decay amplitudes in a certain approximation. Results are good to factors of four to six. There is good agreement for some of the predicted meson masses.     

Loop states in lattice gauge theory

We reformulate d-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory in terms of gauge invariant loop state variables by solving the SU(2) Gauss law as well as the corresponding Mandelstam constraints. The loop states satisfying the Gauss law and the Mandelstam constraints in d dimension are explicitly constructed in terms of the SU(2) harmonic oscillator prepotential operators. We show that these mutually independent (orthonormal) loop states carry certain non-negative integer Abelian fluxes over the lattice links and are characterized by 3(d−1) gauge invariant angular momentum quantum numbers per lattice site. Thus, they provide a complete orthonormal loop basis in the physical Hilbert space of the gauge theory. Further, we derive the loop Hamiltonian and show that it counts, creates and annihilates the Abelian fluxes over the plaquettes. The generalization to SU(N) gauge group is discussed.     

Ising lattice gauge theory in three dimensions

By raising the transfer matrix to a finite power the partition function for a finite lattice Z(2) gauge model is obtained exactly. The zeros of the resultant polynomial are found and some plaquette-plaquette expectation values are extracted. An exponential fit for the inverse correlation length matches onto both strong- and weak-coupling results but breaks down close to the second-order phase transition point.Similar calculations for the three-dimensional Ising model are also discussed.     

Generalized actions in Zp lattice gauge theory

In Z_p lattice gauge theory we generalize the Wilson action to include all group representations. We review the implications of duality for these models. With Monte Carlo methods, we find a rich phase structure for the cases p = 4 and 5.     

Bosonic lattice gauge theory with noise

We apply the recently suggested linear updating algorithm of Kennedy and Kuti to four-dimensional SU(3) bosonic gauge theory with the Wilson action. The change in the action for each link update is estimated stochastically, and we find that the algorithm gives the mean plaquette correctly for reasonable parameter values. Our results indicate that this method should be efficient for Monte Carlo computations with complicated “improved” actions, and they also show the feasibility of using such “noisy” methods to include the dynamical effects of fermions.     

Three-dimensional lattice gauge theory and strings

We consider SU(2) lattice gauge theory in three dimensions. The Wilson loops are found to be well described by a simple string model in the approximate scaling region.     

Order parameters and boundary effects in U(1) lattice gauge theory

We show that, independently of the boundary conditions, the two phases of the 4-dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theory can be characterized by the presence or absence of an “infinite” current network, with an appropriate definition of “infinite” network takes values 0 or 1 in the cold and hot phase, respectively. It thus constitutes a very efficient order parameter, which allows one to determine the transition region at low computational cost. In addition, for open and fixed boundary conditions we address the question of the impact of inhomogeneities and give examples of the reappearance of an energy gap already at moderate lattice sizes.